Fiber optic directional sensor with wide-field optical field expanding element and method

A projectile sensing system, comprising:

• a sensor for receiving light from a launched projectile, the sensor having a convex surface and a plurality of fused optical fibers that have been fused together via heating, each of the optical fibers having an end face forming a respective portion of the convex surface;
• a light sensing apparatus positioned such that the light is received by the light sensing apparatus from at least one of the optical fibers, the light sensing apparatus comprising a plurality of pixels to measure the received light;
• an optical element positioned within a path of light, the optical element having optical characteristics that expand a field of view of the at least one of the optical fiber by focusing the light on an end face of the at least one optical fiber, wherein the optical element is coupled to the sensor and has a concave surface positioned adjacent to the sensor;
• and
• a control element coupled to the light sensing apparatus to receive a value indicative of a measurement of the portion by the light sensing apparatus and having a processor to determine a direction of the projectile from the sensor based on the value.